'anti-central' originates from Modern English, formed from the Greek prefix 'anti-' (Greek 'anti') meaning 'against' and from Medieval Latin/French 'central' ultimately from Latin 'centrum' (from Greek 'kentron') where 'centrum/kentron' meant 'center'.

'anti-central' developed by combining the productive English prefix 'anti-' with the adjective 'central' in Modern English. 'Central' itself entered English via Old French/Medieval Latin from Latin 'centralis', which came from Greek 'kentron' meaning 'point, center'. The compound usage follows patterns like 'anti-[adjective]' formed in the 19th–20th centuries.

Initially components literally meant 'against' + 'center', and over time the compound has come to be used especially in political and organizational contexts to mean 'opposed to centralized authority; favoring decentralization'.